Question about Voodoo/Serpent Worship/Avoiding Dilettantism

[the_spiral]

Hello all, I've been reading this forum for awhile but this is my first time emerging from lurkerdom, so this is an introductory post in addition to a question. I'm not exactly new to occultism or spirituality, but I'm new to this particular path and wanted some advice from more experienced occultists on how to avoid the dreaded "dabbling" problem [happyface]

I've been practicing classical hatha yoga and meditation for about a decade, I am a licensed yoga teacher (trained in India at a Sivananda-lineage school), and also a second-degree Reiki initiate. I began practicing yoga in order to make sense of several powerful and life-changing experiences I had in church when I was younger (I was raised Christian, have great respect for Jesus and the Catholic pantheon—and yes, I see Christianity as pantheistic—but I don't practice that faith myself). During these visions, I experienced a powerful yet benevolent Serpent who overtook my body and psyche and bade me to follow Her. I later came to identify these as partial kundalini awakenings. Since then, most of my practice and ritual has been based on "catching up" intellectually to the spiritual experiences I had as a child and teenager, developing a stronger relationship with Kundalini-Shakti energy, and understanding why the Divine has chosen to manifest itself to me in this way. I also have a corn snake and a python I regard as respected familiars and work with in ritual practice (in addition to being my sweet little animal companions!)

I'm writing this question because I've lately felt myself deeply drawn to the Voodoo pantheon, most specifically Damballah-Wedo and Aida-Wedo (the Serpent God/Goddess, also syncretized with Le Grand Zombi in Louisiana Voodoo, which I am more familiar with than Haitian Vodou). I've been practicing hoodoo and root magic for many years without giving it much thought (I'm of Acadian and African-American heritage and my great-grandmother was a rootworker), and I have cultural connections to New Orleans so I was aware the Voodoo pantheon existed for a long time without feeling any personal connection to it. However in my last trip to New Orleans, I had a chance encounter with a Voodoo priest and began researching more about it, and feel strongly that there is some connection between Aida/Damballah/Le Grand Zombi and the Kundalini-Shakti energy that has been manifesting in my life since childhood. I now have candles and offerings for Papa Legba (the gatekeeper to the pantheon) and the Serpent Goddess on my ritual altar, but I haven't lit them or prayed to them yet because I am aware these are very powerful energies and I don't want to be a dilettante or approach them frivolously. However, my practice has been heavily intuitive from the time I was a child (as you can imagine, you're kind of on your own when worshipping Serpent energy in a Christian fundamentalist community!) and I feel a strong "call" from these deities and an implicit connection between them and my kundalini-based yoga practice, as well as an ancestral pull I can't really explain. I've also had several "affirmative" signs recently (i.e. going to a work colleague's full moon holiday party last week and discovering she was a Haitian Vodou practitioner and devotee of Erzulie Dantor, and was thrilled to find someone local who shared her spiritual interests!)

I recognize following the Serpent is a lifelong path for me and my practice will naturally change and evolve, but I don't want to be a dilettante or rush headlong into new rituals (especially those from a tradition where possession is common) without understanding how they fit into my established practice. I also had a few negative encounters with pesky low-level entities when I was younger and less cautious with my practice, so I'm quite gun shy about dabbling in anything "new" without taking precautions. Ideally I would love to learn from an established Voodoo/Vodou community but there isn't one in my current area. Any tips on resources or methods I can use to wade into these new waters safely and respectfully?

[Desecrated]

Isn't it simply your consciousness trying to make sense of the world using memories and things that you are already familiar with?

[the_spiral]

Isn't it simply your consciousness trying to make sense of the world using memories and things that you are already familiar with?

Yes, probably so. However, when my consciousness connects with deities/energy forms who already have well-established cultural traditions and rituals around them, I feel a sense of caution in entering their spaces. Does that make sense?

[Desecrated]

Isn't it simply your consciousness trying to make sense of the world using memories and things that you are already familiar with?

Yes, probably so. However, when my consciousness connects with deities/energy forms who already have well-established cultural traditions and rituals around them, I feel a sense of caution in entering their spaces. Does that make sense?

It's your brain. Embrace it. Dive in.

[magari]

Isn't it simply your consciousness trying to make sense of the world using memories and things that you are already familiar with?

Yes, probably so. However, when my consciousness connects with deities/energy forms who already have well-established cultural traditions and rituals around them, I feel a sense of caution in entering their spaces. Does that make sense?

It's your brain. Embrace it. Dive in.

Very wise.

[the_spiral]

Isn't it simply your consciousness trying to make sense of the world using memories and things that you are already familiar with?

Yes, probably so. However, when my consciousness connects with deities/energy forms who already have well-established cultural traditions and rituals around them, I feel a sense of caution in entering their spaces. Does that make sense?

It's your brain. Embrace it. Dive in.

You're right. Thanks [thumbup] Sometimes it's hard to strike a balance between "JUST STARTED MAGICKING YESTERDAY, HOW DO U INVOKE LILITH?!" and staying within one's narrow paradigmatic boundaries out of fear of the unknown.

[Cybernetic_Jazz]

Sounds like a fascinating path you're on and all the luck to you on it!

When you mention concern over safety of dealing with entities - that's the same reason I probably will not touch anything like Lesser Keys for a very long time, ie. until I fully understand why I'm doing it and agree that the application is not only useful but to the betterment of humanity.

I find myself in the spot where I'm novice - my head of course is brimming with booksmarts, I've had enough experiences to know that this is real but not enough to be able to cut away what isn't and I understand that my sense of the dangers is purely heuristic and second hand. I think the more you research and explore the more you'll understand the spiritual/psychic etiquette of your tradition. Banishing techniques of course are great for the astral brats and trolls that might show up but you're wise to realize also that you definitely don't want to be irritating something powerful, for good reason on it's part, and then try to raise a shield - ie. you want to do this the right way and approach as respectfully as possible.

The one thing I would suggest, while it's not a set of books or anything like that, is to just close your eyes and meditate on the thought exclusively of where to get more information on voodoo as a legitimate spiritual path (ie. every path has its flamboyant smut salesmen and then it's quiet, earnest, and almost secluded teachers who really know the score) you'll find more synchronicities toward the knowledge and even people you're looking for. I know that's magic at it's most general but I think we all agree that having good books rather than bad books, good teachers rather than bad teachers, the real isht that works rather than belt-factory, is what our object is as serious seekers and travelers along the path of return. Knowledge is power in that to know we have an option that we didn't know we had before can completely change our lives for the better; I cherish every moment when I'm given something like that by the grace of God.